Police in Fox Lake, Ill., are searching for three suspects after an officer was fatally shot on Tuesday while he was in pursuit of the men for suspicious activity. (Reuters)

A manhunt launched after a police officer was fatally shot in northern Illinois stretched into a second day Wednesday, closing schools in the area as authorities continued looking for suspects.
Police said that Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, an officer in Fox Lake, Ill., was shot and killed Tuesday morning after he reported that he was on foot and chasing three possible suspects.
Gliniewicz was a father of four and a decorated officer known to many as “G.I. Joe,” Fox Lake Mayor Donny Schmit said at a news conference Tuesday.
“We lost a family member,” Schmit said.
[Manhunt launched after death of an officer known as “G.I. Joe”]
Local agencies and federal authorities combed the Fox Lake area after the shooting, sending waves of officers and police dogs out on the ground while helicopters skimmed overhead.
Fox Lake, a community of about 10,000 residents, is a little more than an hour north of downtown Chicago.
Several schools in the area said they would be closed Wednesday due to the continuing search. Grant Community High School in Fox Lake, which was locked down for much of the day Tuesday, announced that it would be closing after discussions with local officials.
School officials said in a statement that “we have all decided that it is in the best interests of our students, the community, and law enforcement, to cancel school.”
The Big Hollow, Gavin and Fox Lake school districts also announced that they would be canceling classes because of the ongoing search.
“Thank you for your patience and cooperation during this very difficult time for our community,” John Ahlemeyer, superintendent of Gavin School District 37, wrote in a message to parents announcing the cancellation of school. He added: “Once again, thank you for your cooperation and patience as we pull together as a community on behalf of our children and each other.”
After Gliniewicz radioed in to say he was chasing three possible suspects shortly before 8 a.m. on Tuesday, contact with him was lost, and another officer found him with a gunshot wound, according to Chris Covelli, a Lake County Sheriff& …Read More